"Just Shoot Me" star David Spade is developing and voicing
a primetime NBC toon that would mark Brillstein-Grey's first foray into
TV animation and would be NBC's first original primetime animated series
since the 1964 "Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo."

The comedy, tentatively titled "Peewee," will be produced by
Brillstein-Grey Entertainment and animated by Sony Imageworks. NBC and Brillstein-Grey
both confirmed that the project is in the works.

Spade is co-creating "Peewee" with veteran comedy producer
Drake Sather, who has written material for Spade's standup routines in addition
to work on "NewsRadio," "The Larry Sanders Show" and
"The Dennis Miller Show."

Details of "Peewee" are still being worked out, but the comedy
will loosely deal with Spade's early family life, including his childhood
relationship with a ne'er-do-well (but funny) father and a brother. Spade
plans to voice the role of both father and son.

"David has had this show in his head for many years, and that kind
of personal vision usually makes for a great animated show," said Kevin
Reilly, executive vice president of TV at Brillstein-Grey.

NBC has ordered a fully animated pilot presentation tape, which will
be completed by January, and the series is targeted for a January 2000 launch.

The Peacock this summer ran a revoiced version of the British toon "Stressed
Eric," which flopped, but the Spade project shows that NBC is serious
about being a player in the primetime animation business.

So far, Fox has had the most success in the genre with "The Simpsons"
and 'King of the Hill," and now UPN and the WB are developing animated
primetime comedies of their own.

An animated hit can prove extremely lucrative for production companies
because of rich licensing and merchandising deals, the ease of travel overseas
and an evergreen quality in syndication.

Spade, a former "Saturday Night Live" cast member and writer,
has had roles in films such as "Tommy Boy," "8 Heads in a
Duffel Bag" and "Coneheads." He currently stars in the NBC
comedy "Just Shoot Me," which anchors the Peacock's Tuesday lineup
this fall.